Catholic Churches of NCC includes: Saint Patrick Parish Seneca WI; Saint Philip Parish Rolling Ground WI; Saint Mary Parish Gays Mills WI; St James Cemetery Rising Sun WI; Kneeland Cemetery Seneca WI catholicchurchesofncc.com

Sunday, January 4^th, 2026  The Epiphany of the Lord

St. Mary, St. Patrick, St. Philip Parishes

Mailing address for all three parishes:  PO Box 35, Seneca WI 54654

Website: https://www.catholicchurchesofncc.com

Confessions: Normally, 30 minutes

before every Mass and by appointment.

Normal Monthly Eucharistic Adoration:

St. Patrick: First Friday after the 8:30 AM Mass

St. Philip: First Sunday after the 10:30 AM Mass

Mass Intentions This Week

Pastor: Fr. Tom Huff – Rectory 608-734-3252 email: frtomhuff@gmail.com

Bookkeeper, Bulletin, Mass Intentions: Kevin Murray 608-391-0434 or 608-734-3931

email: secretary@ncc.diolcparish.org

Membership: Yvonne Hady 608 485-2109 email: hadyy@mwt.net

New Bulletin Information Deadline: Mondays at 6:00 PM. Bulletin is posted on our website.

UPCOMING PARISH EVENTS

Adult Faith Study at St. Mary is on Tuesday January 6^th at 1:30pm

St. Patrick Announcements:

None at this time

St. Philip Announcements:

St. Philip Candles: Contact Bonnie Murphy. The cost is $5 per candle.

Food Pantry items are needed. Please leave any gift at the rear of the Church.

St. Mary Announcements:

St. Mary's is hosting our annual Christmas Season Party on Sunday, January 18, 2026 at 12:30 PM at the American Legion Hall in Gays Mills.  Members of all three parishes are invited to attend. More information to follow....but Save the Date!

Rosary – 30 minutes before Mass -- St. Mary’s Church is open each day from 7:00 am to 6:00 pm (winter hours). You are welcome to stop in to pray and/or light a candle for your special intention.

First Sunday Potluck Brunch after Mass each first Sunday of the month. All are welcome, dish to share is appreciated, but not required. Next potluck is Sunday, Jan. 4^th.

Food Pantry Donations can be left in the basket in the rear of the Church.

Tri-Parish Announcements:

We need more Mass Intentions for All Parishes

Youth Envelopes: If the youth members of our parishes would like their own youth envelopes for giving to the Church let us know. Youth envelopes are available. Please contact Kevin if you are interested.

2026 Donation Envelopes are available now. The envelopes do really help us here in the office and are a good reminder for special collections throughout the year. If you do not receive envelopes currently and would like to, please contact Kevin Murray 608-391-0434 or 608-734-3931 email: secretary@ncc.diolcparish.org

Other Announcements:

A BIG thank you to all of those who gave me prayers, cards and gifts this Christmas! Many blessings to you all! Thank you for your kindness. Fr. Tom

Income from Last Week

DIVINE MERCY IN MY SOUL - “Those who sincerely say, ‘Jesus I trust in You’ will find comfort in all their anxieties and fears.” (St. Pope John Paul II ) “Lord, you will show us the path of life.” (Psalm 16:11)

Solemnity of the Epiphany: All Are Called To Seek Jesus

This Sunday the Church reminds us that we all need to be making a spiritual journey in life, just like the three Wise Men. A spiritual journey is necessary to help us reflect upon the deeper questions of life: Why was I created? How should I use my talents and abilities? Why should I choose doing good over doing evil? What is the goal of life?

The Wise Men searched for answers to such questions; and so should we! They discovered the answer to their questions in finding Jesus Christ; and so should we! After all, Jesus came into this world to help every person to discover the meaning, purpose and the true goal of their life. And Jesus is always ready to help us to become the person we were meant to be; made in God's image and likeness.

May each one of us, as we make our own unique journey in life, be willing to seek out Jesus and be guided by Him, His teachings and the Church He founded. May the Christ Child lead us as the Way, the Truth and the Life. Amen.

Tri-Parish Prayer List – We want to pray for the ill and others in our parishes who need ongoing prayer. To be placed on or to place someone on our prayer list, please call: Sue Peterson 608-735-4865, Bonnie Murphy 608-386-4954, or Ica Boylen 608-734-3287.

Who were the Magi?

The Gospel of Matthew mentions the Magi who came from the East to worship the newborn Christ child. Exactly who the magi were though remains somewhat of a mystery.

The magi were probably Persian priest-astrologers who could interpret the stars, particularly the significance of the star that proclaimed the birth of the Messiah. Even the ancient historian Herodotus (d. 5 century B.C.) would attest to the astrological abilities of the priestly class of Persia.

More importantly, the visit of the magi fulfilled the prophecies of the Old Testament: Balaam prophesied about the coming Messiah marked by a star: “I see him, though not now; I behold him, though not near: A star shall advance from Jacob and a staff shall rise from Israel…” (Numbers 24:17). Psalm 72 speaks of how the Gentiles will come to worship the Messiah and that all kings shall pay Him homage, all nations shall serve Him” (72:10-11). Isaiah also prophesied the gifts: “Caravans of camels shall fill you, dromedaries shall come bearing gold and frankincense, and proclaiming the praises of the Lord” (Isaiah 60:6). St. Matthew recorded that the Magi brought three gifts, each also having a prophetic meaning: gold, the gift for a king; frankincense, the gift for a priest; and myrrh– a burial ointment, a gift for one who would die. St. Irenaeus (d. 202) in his Adversus haereses offered the following interpretation for the gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh respectively: King, God, and Suffering Redeemer as well as virtue, prayer, and suffering.

Traditionally, we think of the three magi as the three kings. We usually have the three kings in our nativity sets. We even sing, “We three kings of orient are….” Here the three gifts, Psalm 72, the other prophecies, and the star in the East converge to render the Magi as three kings traveling from the East.

Since the seventh century in the Western Church, the magi have been identified as Caspar (or Gaspar), Melchior, and Balthasar. Writings attributed to St. Bede (d. 735) wrote, “The magi were the ones who gave gifts to the Lord. The first is said to have been Melchior, an old man with white hair and a long beard… who offered gold to the Lord as to a king. The second, Caspar by name, young and beardless and ruddy complexioned… honored Him as God by his gift of incense, an oblation worthy of divinity. The third, black-skinned and heavily bearded, named Balthasar… by his gift of myrrh testified to the Son of Man who was to die.” An excerpt from a Medieval saints calendar printed in Cologne read, “Having undergone many trials and fatigues for the Gospel, the three wise men met at Sewa (Sebaste in Armenia) in AD 54 to celebrate the feast of Christmas. Thereupon, after the celebration of Mass, they died: St. Melchior on January 1, aged 116; St. Balthasar on January 6th, aged 112; and St. Caspar on January 11th, aged 109.” The Catholic Church also lists these dates as the Magi’s respective feast days.

Emperor Zeno brought the relics of the magi from Persia to Constantinople in 490. The relics appeared in Milan much later and were kept at the Basilica of St. Eustorgius. Emperor Frederick Barbarossa of Germany, who plundered Italy, took the relics to Cologne in 1162, where they remain secure to this day in a beautiful reliquary housed in the Cathedral.

Each year as we celebrate Christmas and the Feast of the Epiphany, we too must be mindful of our duty to adore our Lord through prayer, worship, and self-sacrificing good works. St. Gregory Nazianzen (d. 389) preached, “Let us remain on in adoration; and to Him, who, in order to save us, humbled Himself to such a degree of poverty as to receive our body, let us offer not only incense, gold and myrrh…, but also spiritual gifts, more sublime than those which can be seen with the eyes” (Oratio, 19).